Tony Deyal | A Massy of Pottage

If you're working in a supermarket, taking up a piece of cake is a piece of cake. The term "piece of cake" applied to any action means that it is easy to accomplish, for example, "Why did the students eat their homework?" Because the teacher said it was a piece of cake. It is believed that the idea of being "easy" or simple originated in the 1870s when cakes were given out as prizes for winning competitions. The term was first used in print in 1936 by Ogden Nash, who wrote, "Her picture's in the papers now, and life's a piece of cake."

A few days ago, I came up with a matter that takes the cake, not only because the cake was actually taken, but the event expanded into the less literal sense of the term "take the cake" which, according to one dictionary, "Originally, to 'take the cake' meant to win a prize or a competition people as far back as the ancient Greeks used the word 'cake' to mean 'a symbolic prize.' Over time, it grew to have a more negative, sarcastic meaning in English: 'I can't believe this mess. It just takes the cake.'" Well, this incident is so outrageous it does not only take the cake, but also takes the ice cream and all the other desserts.

A former cashier-assistant at a supermarket owned by Massy, the regional conglomerate, in Arnos Vale, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Nagee Farrell, was charged with stealing a slice of cake, worth just over EC$7 (roughly US$2.60) from his workplace. He was observed going into the deli area at 6:15 p.m., taking the cake, and not proceeding to the cash desk. Instead, Farrell was seen going into the back of the store with the slice of cake and re-emerging without the cake. In other words, while an English idiom insists that "You can't have your cake and eat it", he had done so.

When he was questioned, the accused admitted to taking the cake without paying for it, and the police were called in. Young Farrell, who had been working at the Massy Stores for more than a year, was fired by Massy and, despite having no previous convictions, charged for stealing the piece of cake.

While life turned out to be less than a piece of cake for Farrell, the Magistrate in charge of the case found that sentencing the young man was not his piece of cake.

 

'Record for a cake'

 

The first comment by Senior Magistrate Rickie Burnett, was, "A record for a piece of cake."

As a reason for his actions, the young man indicated that he had submitted to "temptation" to which the Magistrate commented, "It is one thing to be tempted, now you are out of a job. You have now attracted a criminal record for an item worth seven dollars and some cents." The Magistrate insisted, "That to me is painful. Painful!" He mused, "A record for a piece of cake." When it came to sentencing the young man, Magistrate Burnett said, "In my opinion you have been punished already by your employer."

According to a newspaper report of the trial, Mr. Burnett stated that he could not understand "these things". "I really, really cannot understand," Mr. Burnett repeated.

He commented again on the young man having obtained a record "for less than $10", mentioning that just before Farrell appeared before him, there was a teenager who had been charged with stealing a doughboy worth EC$2.90 (just over US$1). Mr. Burnett reminded Farrell that what he had done was wrong "according to the law," but said that he was minded to reprimand and discharge him.

Now this is not the only case anywhere in the world where someone was charged with a crime concerning cake. In fact, a careless statement about people eating cake because of the scarcity of bread in France on October 16, 1793, caused Marie Antoinette to lose her head.

A Harrods employee, Juan Mackenzie, was sacked for eating a slice of chocolate "Devil Dog's Cake", worth £7.50, sent back by a customer for being too dry. The cake was going to be thrown away but Mackenzie insisted that, as Restaurant Supervisor, he tasted a slice from the cake to make sure it was moist enough. He is now claiming £1 million compensation.

The Madison County Record newspaper highlighted the case of Diana King who was fired by her employer, WalMart, after her co-workers accused her of stealing two cakes. She denies the accusations, says she paid for the cakes and has receipts to prove her case. She is suing WalMart for $100,000.

So Massy, which does business in Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the US and Colombia has precedents of a sort for the extreme actions it took against young Farrell. He was such a vicious criminal that firing was not enough punishment. He had to be hauled before the court and face the full wrath of the law. If the Magistrate saw fit to jail him, better yet. One more miscreant given his just deserts (what he deserves) and desserts simultaneously.

Fortunately, the Magistrate, Mr Burnett, tempered justice with mercy. He stood up for fairness and justified his position on the matter. Not so Massy. According to the media report, it "declined to comment".

From my view, this demonstrates the extreme cowardice of a company hiding from its actions, one that is very much like Donald Trump in seeking shelter behind the office he holds or the corporate veil of his enterprises.

It is like Massy's insistence that charging shoppers in Trinidad fifty-cents for a plastic bag, despite other supermarkets sticking to the bag as part of its service, somehow helps us to "save" the environment.

The company might have changed the name of its supermarket from "Hi-Lo" to Massy, but I believe, whatever the name, this is as "Lo" as you can go.

- Tony Deyal was last seen advising Massy not to value the cake as much as the icing. That is when other people enjoy your vision and support what you do.